BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — BILLS ADVANCING REPARATIONS FOR BLACK NEW YORKERS and descendants of slaves are the focus of a presentation that the Center for Brooklyn History will give the day after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. “Just Conversations | Reparations in NYC: A Path Toward Justice and Equity,” being held Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the Othmer Library at 128 Pierrepont St., will focus on the legislation that four City Councilmembers passed this fall to ensure reparations. Speakers will be Brooklyn Councilmembers Crystal Hudson (D-35/Fort Greene to Crown Hts.), a third-generation Brooklynite and daughter of Jamaican and Honduran immigrants, and Dr. Nantasha Williams (D-Queens). Moderating the panel will be Linda Tigani, Executive Director of the NYC Commission on Racial Equity, which is working closely with the NYC Council to create a meaningful framework for racial justice. Sponsoring this program, which is part of the “Just Conversations” series, are the Brooklyn Public Library Government Affairs and BPL’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Registration is necessary for the in-person program.
While national discussions around reparations have stalled in Congress since the 1980s, New York City and other communities across the nation have taken the initiative in exploring their own forms of reparative justice with projects ranging from public apologies and memorials to those addressing ongoing inequalities in housing, healthcare and legal services.
